10 Things Fans Should Know About Hulk Hogan's Career In NJPW

Wrestling fans in the West know all about Hulk Hogan. The kid-friendly icon of 1980s wrestling, the charismatic Hogan helped shepherd in a major pro wrestling boom as part of WWE, famously turned heel and changed wrestling again in the late 1990s, and has been criticized for his in-ring work, backstage politicking, and real-life scandals. But wrestling fans in Japan saw an entirely different version of the Hulkster.

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Hulk Hogan performed for Japan’s biggest promotion, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, as early as 1980, and fans checking out his work in NJPW will discover a different Hogan from what they’re used to. Here’s what fans should know about this less-well-known aspect of Hulk Hogan’s career.

10 Different In-Ring Style

In the West, Hulk Hogan’s known for having pretty formulaic matches, suffering a lengthy beatdown before “Hulking up,” absorbing any further attacks, and quickly working toward his running leg drop finisher. While the routine obviously worked well in the States, that sort of thing was inappropriate in Japan, where pro wrestling was presented as more of a “legitimate” sport, so Hogan’s style was completely different — more mat-based and technical. He even had a different finisher, utilizing a devastating lariat called the Axe Bomber rather than his Running Leg Drop.

9 Nicknamed “Ichiban”

Hulk Hogan made his New Japan debut in 1980, scoring a win over Haruka Eigen, a.k.a former NWA World Tag Team Champion Great Togo. It wouldn’t be long before the Hulkster caught on with Japanese audiences, who’d give him the nickname of “Ichiban,” which translates to “number one.” His popularity with fans in Japan made him a pop culture icon there as well, with his unique look inspiring countless anime and comic book characters, not to mention a comic book biography chronicling his life and career.

8 The First G1 Climax Winner

The year 1983 marked a milestone for both Hulk Hogan and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, as the promotion rolled out what would become an annual tradition and an institution in the sport: the International Wrestling Grand Prix. Later known as the G1 Climax, this round-robin tournament featured ten wrestlers competing, including Akira Maeda, Big John Studd, NJPW founder Antonio Inoki, and Hulk Hogan.

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By the end of the round robin portion, Hulk Hogan earned 37 points, allowing him to take on Antonio Inoki in the finals. Hogan would defeat Inoki with his signature Axe Bomber — a huge upset at the time — becoming the first G1 Climax winner.

7 The First IWGP Heavyweight Champion (Kind Of)

By winning the first-ever G1 Climax, Hulk Hogan was given a major award, the newly created IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This wasn’t the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (which was established in 1987), but actually a precursor that would only be defended annually against the following year’s G1 Winner. That would establish the practice of the G1 determining a #1 Contender, which is still done to this day, but would also make Hogan a bit of an odd outlier, as the only G1 Winner who did not earn a title shot by winning, but rather the title itself.

6 Tag Partners With Inoki

Hulk Hogan and Antonio Inoki competed against one another in the ring on multiple occasions, including in a title match after Inoki won the second G1 Climax. But in addition to being rivals, Hogan and Inoki also wrestled tag matches together, taking on opponents like Big John Studd and Dick Murdoch. They even made formal entries into the New Japan’s MSG Tag League tournament — later known as World Tag League — competing in the 1982 and 1983 iteration and winning both.

5 Clashed With Andre The Giant

As Western fans know, one of Hulk Hogan’s biggest rivals in North America was Andre the Giant, with their main event title bout at 1987’s WrestleMania 3 being a major milestone in WWE history. But they had numerous encounters in Japan years before that huge match at the Pontiac Silverdome, as Andre the Giant was also a pop culture icon overseas. Not only did they compete in singles and tag matches in NJPW, but Andre was a thorn in the Hulkster’s side, going as far as interfering in his bout with Inoki at the first G1 Climax.

4 Matches With Great Muta

After 1985, Hulk Hogan’s appearances in New Japan dried up, with the exception of a single match at 1990’s co-promoted WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit. Hogan finally made his return to New Japan in 1993, where he took on The Great Muta, one of the company’s top stars and a known commodity in the West thanks to his appearances in WCW.

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Both men were the top champions of their respective companies, and Hogan ended up defeating Muta. This necessitated a rematch, with Muta shedding his persona to simply wrestle the Hulkster as Keiji Mutoh, but once again Hogan captured the win.

3 Trashed The WWE Championship In a Promo

In one memorable promo during his rivalry with The Great Muta/Keiji Mutoh, Hulk Hogan proclaimed his desire to capture Muta’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship. While the speech feels anomalous because it’s Hogan talking in a normal voice at a press conference instead of bellowing into a camera, it’s the content that really makes it notable — he trashes his own WWE Championship, calling it a “toy” and a “trinket,” saying that the IWGP Heavyweight Title was the actual top prize in wrestling. Given that Hogan was WWE’s top star, it’s rather shocking to hear him disparage the belt he once held for four years.

2 His Final NJPW Match

Following a singles victory over fellow legend Tatsumi Fujinami in the Tokyo Dome in 1994, Hulk Hogan would once again disappear from NJPW, this time for nearly a decade. He’d finally make his return to the company in late 2003, taking on another top star and contemporary of Muta’s, Masahiro Chono, once again in the Tokyo Dome. This near 20-minute affair would end with Hogan defeating his fellow legend after Hulking Up and delivering his signature Axe Bomber.

1 The Attack By Jeff Jarrett

While Hulk Hogan’s dream match with Masahiro Chono already seemed like a big deal to Japanese audiences, what happened after the match had major implications for wrestling fans in the West. During the obligatory post-match press conference, Hogan was ambushed by Jeff Jarrett of Impact Wrestling — back then known as TNA — who beat the Hulkster bloody and smashed a guitar over his head. This was meant to set up a huge bout at what would be the first Bound for Glory, but the match itself never materialized.